Real Vampires Hate Their Thighs (26 page)

“We saw that video about Ian’s sunlight drug. I tried to follow up on that too. To see if any vampires have tried it and lived to tell the tale.”

Jerry and Flo leaned forward. Uh-oh. A lot of interest there. Well, why not? Maybe Ian could make it happen. But I doubted Jerry would ever be able to bring himself to trust a MacDonald’s daylight drug even if a thousand vampires showed Jer their sunburns.

I glanced at Valdez. “Did you find any?”

“No. I took that to the Los Angeles Council. They were very interested in Ian’s claims. They’ll be calling on him to check it out.” Richard narrowed his gaze on me. “Tell me about your nightmares, Gloriana. You’re not sleeping when you should. That tells me you might actually wake up during daylight hours.”

I waved my hand and kept the giant block to my thoughts firmly in place. “Dreams, Richard. It’s kind of cool, even when they’re scary.” I smiled at Jerry. “I dreamed your mother and Mara were burning me at the stake for being a witch. And you couldn’t have cared less.”

“Nonsense. I’ll always care what happens to you, Gloriana, even when you’re wrongheaded.” Jerry looked at Valdez. “Does she move when she dreams?”

“I’m not in her bedroom, Blade. I stay out here, guarding the door.”
Valdez had effectively avoided the answer without telling an out-and-out lie.

“Ian said she was sleep deprived.” Flo spoke up. “And during what he calls the ‘death sleep,’ she didn’t heal like she was supposed to. What does that mean, Ricardo?”

“I don’t know. But I don’t like it.” Richard frowned, pulled out a pen and wrote in his notebook. “How do you feel now, Gloriana?”

“I feel great. I fed from a mortal who ran twenty miles with me and then we both climbed twenty-two flights of stairs. I’ve lost all this weight and I’m skinny for the first time in my life. Why wouldn’t I feel great? Now, can we forget the third degree? Flo and I are going shopping.” I jumped up. If Jerry wasn’t going to apologize or do something to show me he accepted my decisions, then I was out of here. Instead he just kept frowning at me, like he thought my baggy pants and loose T-shirt were evidence of my disloyalty.

“I’m with you, girlfriend. We’ll be downstairs in the lobby shops, Ricardo. You can come with us or wait here or go do your investigating.” Flo stopped in front of Richard, who’d jumped to his feet along with Jerry. She kissed his cheek. “Seriously,
amante
. We just spent the evening with Ian and his thugs and no one got hurt. Valdez and Brittany? Can you back me up on that?” Clearly Flo had decided to forget the incident with the pencil.

“I don’t like the man. Just a gut feeling. And his bodyguards are stupid, but no one tried anything we couldn’t handle.”
Valdez dropped his leash at my feet, obviously figuring if Flo was all right with the pencil incident, then he wasn’t going to mention it either.
“I’m watching her with MacDonald, boss. Brit’s got you on speed dial if we run into a situation where we need you.”

“You call me immediately then.” Jerry stepped closer and looked down at me. “Your face is thinner, Gloriana. You look tired. Let me taste your blood again.”

“Fine. But Ray checked it when we woke up and it was okay.” I held out my wrist. “See for yourself.”

Jerry’s eyes darkened, then he pressed his lips to my skin. Finally, he took a taste, the pressure lasting only a moment. He pulled back and licked his lips.

“No problem, you’re fine. Better than.” He leaned down as if he couldn’t help himself and kissed me, then pulled me to him and held me tight as he delved deep and laid claim to my mouth.

I melted against him. I couldn’t help myself either. This was Jerry, my Jerry, and I felt my usual response to his taste and his touch. Richard cleared his throat and we broke apart.

“I’ll call you later.” Jerry turned and followed Richard out the door.

I looked at Flo. “Well. I don’t know whether he’s still mad at me or not.”

“Oh, he’s still mad, but he’ll get over it. Go fix your lipstick, then let’s go shopping. I think you can fit into a six, girlfriend. See if you don’t.” Flo pulled out her own lipstick. “Richard’s mad at me too. I have to work hard to bring him around because I want to buy something from Ian. The man’s a magician, no? Look at you. And in just a few days.”

By the time we’d hit the boutique in the lobby and I’d managed to squeeze into a size six (with spandex), I was calling Ian a freaking Houdini. I refused Flo’s generous offer and made the clerk take my credit card instead of charging it to the room, coming up with a story about a surprise for Ray. Of course I figured my purchase was going to be leaked to the tabloids, but I’d love to see “Glory Wears Size Six” hit newsstands.

I told Flo good-bye, then headed upstairs. My cell phone rang just as I was hanging up my new pair of skinny jeans. Caller ID said it was Jerry. I took a breath and answered.

“Hi.”

“Gloriana, I’m outside on your balcony. Will you let me in?”

“Sure.” I closed the phone and headed out to see for myself. Brittany and Valdez were there. They’d just turned on the TV and hit the minibar for some snacks, but obviously they’d seen Jerry and were both waiting for their orders.

“You want to come in?” I opened the French door.

“Why don’t you come somewhere with me?” Jerry signaled to Valdez. “We can leave the shifters here. I’ll have you back before sunrise.”

“Glory, you want to go or not?” Brittany was strictly on Ray’s payroll. She didn’t take orders from Jerry, just me or Ray.

“Sure, I’ll be fine. You two enjoy an evening off.” I glanced at the clock. “Actually we’ve only got about two hours. I’ll be back.” I looked up at Jerry. “I have to be. It’s important.”

“Right. Another of MacDonald’s supplements.” His mouth firmed.

“Not just that. I have the reality show people coming right after sundown. I’ve got to be up and ready to go as soon as I can.” I smiled and touched his cheek. “That’s part of why I did this. They’re making my dress for the red carpet, remember?”

“How could I forget?” He turned his head and kissed my fingertips. “I don’t want to argue with you. Let’s go. Feel like shifting?”

“Sure. I’m still pumped from my feeding earlier. You should have seen me, Jerry. I was a real jock!” I laughed and held my arms out to the cool night air. “Where are we going?”

“Just follow me.” He shifted into a beautiful black bird, waited for me to do the bird thing and then took off.

We flew out and over smaller buildings and the park where Trina and I had run. We flew over streets with cars racing along under us. Finally we were in the hills above Los Angeles. Another empty house? Jerry’s connections with the vampire council were paying off.

He landed on the balcony of the second floor, then swiftly changed back into his tall male form. I landed beside him and managed my own change with a speed that impressed us both.

“You’re getting pretty good at that.” He laughed and hugged me.

“I guess the more I do it, the more confidence I get.” I turned and looked out at the lights of Los Angeles. “Oh, this is beautiful. Where are we?”

“Another of Chip’s investments. We’re in the Hollywood Hills. This one comes fully furnished. We’re in the master bedroom.” Jerry stepped inside.

“Right. Why do we always end up in bed together?” I heard the bitterness in my voice. Well, it was true. Was that all we had? Sex?

“So we won’t this time.” He held out his hands like he wouldn’t dare touch me.

“You know what I mean. It’s like we have to make a big deal out of just talking to each other. And when we do, it’s a disaster. Like last night.” I kept at least five feet between us. He looked too good to me and I couldn’t blame it on Ian’s supplement either. Jerry
always
looked good to me, damn it.

He frowned. “Yes, last night was pretty much a bad scene.”

“Except for the sex.”

“Right.” He moved closer and smiled like he knew he could have me again with just a touch. “Because sex between us is always good.”

“See? We’re right back where we started.” I walked around the king-size bed and kicked off my shoes because my feet hurt, no other reason. “I’m not doing this, Jerry.”

“Fine. Go sit in that chair. Over there. Well away from the bed.” Jerry pointed to a pretty sitting area in front of a fireplace. It had another one of those automatic switches that he flipped and we had a beautiful fire going in moments. He sat in a chair across from me. “Let’s talk about what you’ve been going through.”

“You mean the weight-loss thing.” I was sorry I hadn’t had time to put on my new skinny jeans, but I did have on one of my new clingy sweaters, size medium, thank you very much. The deep rose vee showed off the edge of the C-cup bra I’d bought in hot pink with black lace trim. I absolutely loved it. Why had I turned down sex? I wanted Jerry to see this bra. All of it. Obviously I was certifiable. And, again, much as I’d like to, I couldn’t blame my lust on Ian’s program. Having Jerry near me always messed with my thought processes.

“Tell me how MacDonald’s deal works. What the supplements have been doing to you.”

So I told him. About the nausea. And the dreams. Not about the sleepwalking or the sunlight, of course. The fact that my healing sleep wasn’t working seemed to worry him the most.

“And you say he’s given you a new drug to drink when you wake up in the evening. You don’t know how you’ll react to it.”

“No.” And now I was worried. What if I got sick and then had to be on camera? This was a big deal. I’d get my first glimpse of what the designers had made for me and there’d be that fitting. At least a makeup artist would be on set if I looked like hell after hugging the toilet. Only three more days till the Grammys. I couldn’t quit now but . . .

“Glory, is this really worth it?”

“Yes.” I knew Jerry hated my one-word answers, but he might as well get used to it. Hey, it was what he usually gave me.

“I know I can’t stop you, but I’m going to warn you about something.” He got up, squatted in front of me and took my hands. “I told my father that the MacDonald heir is here. Da is on his way to help me take him down.”

“No!” I jumped up. “You can’t do that. An ambush? That’s—that’s cowardly. Not the Campbell way at all.”

“When it comes to the MacDonalds there are no rules.” Jerry grabbed my shoulders. “I’ve been trying to tell you. These men are the cowards. They’ll lie and cheat and steal to get what they want. Ian knows you’re a Campbell woman. Make no mistake about that. When Richard found out that no other vampire on MacDonald’s weight-loss program got sick, I knew. This is his plan, Gloriana. He’s hurting you to get to me. He’s been trying to draw me out and it’s working. But I’ll not face him alone. I’ll have the clan behind me.”

“Jerry, stop! Don’t do this. Call the laird back and tell him it was a mistake.” I pulled my cell phone from my pocket. “Come on. I can’t let you screw this up for me.”

“Oh, right, for
you
.” Jerry turned his back on me. “I should let him poison you, wait until you go to your big-deal event with your rock star and have your picture made for all the world to see. Then after you’re dead and I’m mad with grief,
then
it’s okay for me to take my men and drive MacDonald into the sea. Is that the way it should be?” He spun and grabbed me, his hands biting into my shoulders. “Is it?”

“Stop! Are you listening to yourself, Jerry? Since when does poison work on vampires? Besides, you tasted my blood earlier. You said it was fine. I’m not poisoned, am I?” I offered my neck. “Drink from me again. Take me to bed and let me show you how much energy I have tonight. I’m feeling, hell, alive! More alive than I’ve felt since the night you turned me. Ian’s magic works, Jerry. Whether he’s your ancient enemy or not doesn’t matter to me.”

“But it
does
matter to me, Gloriana. I can’t be with a woman who doesn’t understand that.” Jerry released me and stepped back. “I never thought I’d finally have enough of you. But mayhap it’s come to pass.”

My heart fluttered, then seemed to stop. Was I crazy? What had I just done? I reached for him but he shook his head.

“Don’t try to cozen me.”

“I’m not.” I was, but I’m not totally stupid. “Listen, Jerry. I get the feud thing. I do. I remember the stories your father told when I visited Castle Campbell. The MacDonalds did terrible things to members of your family.”

“They did.” Jerry nodded, his lips firm.

“And I’m sure the MacDonalds tell stories about the Campbells as well.”

“All lies.”

“No doubt.” I could see logic wasn’t going to work here. “This is the twenty-first century. Broadswords and cudgels are out; brains and computers are in. Can’t you think of a way to take out Ian that’s more subtle than a direct attack?” One that hopefully would take more than three days to plan. “You’d lose fewer men that way.”

“Now you’re making sense.” Jerry actually stood still while I ran my hand up his arm. He wore a white silk shirt with full sleeves and a spread collar, a pirate’s shirt. He’d tucked it into black jeans and left it unbuttoned just enough to make me want to finish the job.

“Use strategy, Jerry, not just brute strength. Ian’s brilliant. You’ve got to give the man that much.” I slid my hand inside the front of his shirt to tease his chest. “He’s got all his inventions. He gave me a computer that works like a mirror. It’s fantastic. Flo went nuts when he gave her one too.”

“Yes, he’s smart, too damned smart. He’s fooled a lot of people with his tricks.” Jerry looked down when he realized I’d released his buttons and pulled his shirt out of his pants.

“Including me, Jerry. Obviously. But I’m willing to go along with him because it suits my purposes. I’ve
used
him. So I’ll look good for that big-deal event. That’s all. And the rock star picked up the tab. So I’ve used him too. Naughty Glory.” I pursed my lips into a pout. “But seems to me you like it when I’m naughty.” Ah, he’d lost his frown, was softening toward me. I glanced down. Well, not all of him was going soft.